So scientists did some cool science again, where they strap scary-looking machinery to people's heads, then say words to them see how their brains handle it.
Here's what happened, as reported on the Neuromarketing blog, at Food, Shelter, and Big Words:
... specific brain patterns emerged for nouns related to food, shelter, and "manipulation" (things that can be grasped or used).... Long words also caused different activation patterns than short ones. emphasis added
If you've been in fundraising for more than, say, 27 minutes, you're probably saying duh about this news. Short, concrete, survival-related words get people's attention! People process long words differently! Knock me down with a feather!
I'm being unfair. The way a lot of fundraising comes out, I'll guess a vast cohort of fundraising professionals don't have a clue about those things.
The (very sound) conclusion drawn at Neuromarketing is this:
Incorporating food/shelter words in one's copy (when relevant and appropriate) may end up having a greater impact. This research doesn't tell us that long words are less effective or harder for the brain to interpret, but I'd consider the fact that lengthy terms activate a different area of the brain to be at least a caution flag for their use in headlines or short copy.
